


the flowers at your feet, the sky at your fingertips

by outomaatti



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, in which the boys are classmates and kenma has a secret, nail painting and trying on makeup and shy kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-05 21:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1833553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outomaatti/pseuds/outomaatti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Hinata notices, they're a very pale pink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the flowers at your feet, the sky at your fingertips

**Author's Note:**

> headcanon session at two in the morning with my awesome beta evolved into concrete fic. this is my debut, and i am overjoyed to have had the honor to write it about these sweet boys.

Kenma's sitting at his desk at lunchtime, fingers tapping at his handheld console, when Hinata sidles up to him, munching on a meat bun and habitually offering an extra one to Kenma. He timidly takes it from his hand, murmuring a quiet, "Thanks," and continues to play using the fingers of one hand, taking a bite out of the bun as he holds it in his other hand. He doesn't notice Hinata's puzzled expression before the boy suddenly crouches down to Kenma's eye level.

"Is that nail polish?" Hinata questions quietly, nearly whispering.

Kenma's eyes widen in shock, and he hastily releases both the console and the meat bun, hiding his hands under his desk. He didn't think anyone would notice—the shade of pink looked almost identical to his natural nail color, yet dainty and pleasant to wear.

"How do you know?" Kenma stutters out, answering Hinata's question with a question of his own, scared out of his mind and wholly positive that Hinata is going to think of him as weird or disgusting from now on.

"Can I see?" Hinata asks. Kenma hesitates for a second, but yields eventually, placing his hands onto the desk. Hinata is the classmate Kenma is the closest to, and he knows his curiosity is always honest.

"Whoa," Hinata whispers, reaching behind him to grab an empty chair, spinning it around and sitting on it backwards. "That looks really good. I wish I could do that," he says, no traces of jest or mockery detectable in his voice. Head resting on his folded arms, he watches Kenma's hands and the dusty pink color of his nails as the other warily picks up his console again and resumes his game.

"I, uh— I could paint yours, too, if you, uh— if you want," Kenma murmurs cautiously, pointedly keeping his eyes on the game screen.

"Really? You could?" Hinata exclaims, a tad too loud, and Kenma has to hush his voice to normal level before the whole classroom hears the redhead's suggestion to come over the other's place after school.

 

* * *

 

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Hinata watches Kenma as he opens his bedside drawer and takes out a simple black toiletry bag. One by one, Kenma pulls out five tiny bottles, gingerly setting them down on the floor. There are two shades of purple, a bright sky blue, a red, and that cotton candy color Kenma is wearing. The vivid colors distantly remind Hinata of candy drops. Kenma gestures at the row of bottles for Hinata to make his pick, who points at the blue one.

Hinata sets his palms down onto the floor, fingers spread, and Kenma leans over. He gently presses the nail polish brush down on Hinata's fingernail, allowing the brush to fan out, and draws it towards the tip. Hinata scrunches up his nose a little at the stuffy odor of the polish, but his eyes twinkle at the newly painted specks of sky slowly appearing on his nails. Kenma's handiwork is meticulous and unhurried despite his slightly trembling hands, and he inwardly commends himself for being able to get Hinata to stay still for such a long time—to the boy often described as a ball of energy, a full five minutes without motion is truly an achievement.

Kenma straightens his back as a sign of being done, feeling the dull ache from being hunched over, and the redhead lifts his hands to look at the finished result, wiggling his fingers a little. He beams with genuine delight ingrained into his features, and Kenma can't help but admire the contrasting combination of the blue of his nails and the orange of his hair. He watches Hinata's giddy expression for a while before collecting the bottles from the floor, but is stopped by a question breaking the brief silence and Hinata tilting his head at the black bag.

"Hey, that's— is that makeup?"

Kenma's first instinct is to panic—he should've remembered to zip up the bag after taking out the polishes. He very nearly considers denying the other's assumption altogether, but resorts to plainly hiding behind his hair, face flushed crimson in embarrassment, and nods just enough for Hinata to register the motion.

The other's reaction, however, is nothing short of unexpected. "Hey, that's so cool! You're— wow, you're really brave, Kenma."

'Brave' isn't quite the first adjective to pop up into Kenma's mind upon describing this hobby of his; nonetheless, the sincere wonder in Hinata's expression makes the red on his face fade into a soft pink. Hinata peers into the bag, clearly trying to suppress his curiosity and failing gloriously at it. He glances at Kenma with a pleading expression, who gives a compliant nod.

"Ah, be careful, you're gonna—" he warns when Hinata moves to rummage through the contents of the bag, "the polish might smear." Hinata pauses briefly to blow on them, and continues his exploration. He is the first person to find out about this secret of Kenma's, and the imagined scenario of being ridiculed and consequently despised seems to be carried out in quite the opposite manner. Kenma feels an odd mix of confusion and relief pooling in his chest, replacing the heavy ache of concern and distress. He silently observes the fiery-haired boy as he twirls a sleek black tube in his fingers, squinting at it a little.

"Does this look good? On— on you, I mean," Hinata asks, straightforward. Kenma blinks at him, somewhat taken aback; yes, the makeup has always worked as a sort of temporary boost of confidence for him, and he has practiced it enough to apply it with a steady hand. He has never shown his done-up face to anyone, however, so his opinion of his appearance might differ from someone else's.

"Well, I, uh—" Kenma feels cornered; he doesn't really know how to respond to the question. He is unsure about whether Hinata wants to actually see him wearing it, or if he just wants a simple answer. "Um— do you— do you wanna see? How it looks like or— or something," Kenma falters, his cheeks still burning with embarrassment.

"Yeah, if you— if you want to, I guess, yeah," the other boy replies, slowly dragging the bag across the floor towards Kenma.

Trying to maintain a calm exterior, Kenma reaches in and takes out an eyeliner tube and a handheld mirror. Gingerly, he presses the tapered edge of the eyeliner brush against a closed eyelid, which trembles faintly at the initial contact. His movements are fluid and delicate, as if his stroke is the hundredth one to date. He angles the brush slightly at the outer corner, and repeats the complete procedure on the other eye. The next object is what resembles a miniature chimney brush in Hinata's opinion; Kenma wiggles the mascara brush right at the base of his lashes, and paints them black in a swift upward sweep. He feels the other's gaze glued to him, which makes him feel sort of exposed, but, somehow, it also works as encouragement for him to keep going.

Kenma opens one more tube with a pop, and lightly sweeps the red-tinted tip against his lips before snapping it shut and throwing it back into the bag. Slowly, he unveils his face from behind his bangs, raising his head and hesitantly meeting the other's eyes.

Hinata's lips part slightly at the sight, a bewildered yelp escaping from between them. He instantly scoots closer to the other, excitedly eyeing his face and telling him how awesome it looks. Kenma is overwhelmed by the compliments, to say the least. What he does makes him feel good, but hearing someone else think so highly of him doing it makes him feel just that much better.

"Your eyes look just like a cat's now," Hinata points out with a quiet, amiable chuckle, following the curves of the small wings of Kenma's eyeliner. The corners of Kenma's eyes crinkle a little in response, a glint in his warm hazels. He feels the heat creep onto his cheeks anew, feeling somewhat grateful for skipping the blush.

It's only when Hinata's gaze drops down to examine the bitten effect of the chapstick that Kenma realizes how close Hinata is, his breath softly hitting his face on the exhale. He unthinkingly mimics the other boy, eyes following Hinata's tongue quickly wetting his bottom lip. They're probably dry, Kenma wonders; his own are still slightly sticky from the balm, but he feels like licking them now as well.

His eyes wander around the room for a while before he fixes them on Hinata, who is already staring straight at him, eyes sweeping over his features, blinking slowly. The lighting in Kenma's room is dim, but the golden brown irises of the other boy's large eyes are no less vibrant.

"Can I kiss you?" he asks a bit raspily, swallowing afterwards, and Kenma's breath seizes up in his lungs. His sight suddenly feels hazy, his head spinning as if he'd just whirled around a thousand times; he shakes his head in an attempt to dissipate the sensation, which results in a startled expression on Hinata's face. "No?" he voices Kenma's action, frowning lightly. The other realizes his mistake and hastily apologizes to Hinata, erasing his previous gesture and nodding.

"No, no, I'm sorry— I mean— Yes, Shouyou, you can— you can kiss me."

The concern on Hinata's face clears up like a sky after rainfall, and he keeps his gaze fixed on Kenma's lips as he cautiously leans in. Kenma's eyes are wide open the second he registers what's happening, the warmth of soft lips pressing against his own—he's kissing him, _Shouyou is kissing him_ —but he presses closer to Hinata, kissing him back as his eyes droop shut.

Kenma unfolds his legs from his cross-legged position, placing them on top of Hinata's thighs so that it's more comfortable to kiss him. The other boy gets the idea soon enough, moving his legs a bit so Kenma sort of ends up in his lap. Since both of them have apparently forgotten how to breathe, they break apart, resting their foreheads against each other while their breathing evens out.

Kenma's looking down at his lap, still breathing audibly. His lashes are black and wispy against his cheeks as he blinks, and Hinata makes a whispering remark about how long they are. Kenma doesn't wish to look like a flustered mess anymore, so he kisses him again, looping his arms around the other's neck and angling his head a degree or two to kiss him deeper. Hinata's hands are still hanging uselessly at his sides, indecisive as to where to put them. He awkwardly places his palms on Kenma's waist, who makes a soft noise against his mouth.

The second time the kiss comes to a halt, they're panting slightly, their lips red and glistening—it's unclear whether it's from the chapstick or simply kissing.

"It tastes like cherry," Hinata blurts, grinning, clearly unfiltered, and Kenma's face flushes.

"And—" he continues, diverting Kenma's attention back to his face again, "I think you look— I think you're really pretty, Kenma. I think you're beautiful, even," sincerity evident in his voice, a faint flush coloring his cheeks, and Kenma had no idea that he wanted to hear that so badly.

Kenma fights back a smile creeping up his face at the other boy's words, promptly losing the battle, and holds a hand to his mouth to hide it. He feels Hinata's fingers gently gripping it and prying it away from his face, sees the corners of his lips curling into a goofy smile, encouraging Kenma to mirror his expression. He does, and Hinata lets out a sheepish laugh, lacing their fingers together in Kenma's lap. Hinata leans in to softly nuzzle his nose against the other's cheek, and Kenma blissfully closes his eyes at the alleviated feeling spreading warm all across his chest.

_fin._


End file.
